New Zealand Gears Up for America’s Cup 2021

With the America’s Cup in 2021 being held in New Zealand’s City of Sails, superyachts are beginning to plan their cruise towards Auckland to time it with the exciting event.

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO, Grant Dalton, confirmed that the boat will be the AC75 Class and will be a 75-foot-high performance monohull. The design concepts of which will be published by 31st March 2018.

The superyacht industry is expecting a big boost from an America’s Cup event should it be held here in Auckland.

Auckland normally hosts about 30 superyachts over 30m per year and many hope holding racing for the cup off Auckland would lift that number to one in excess of 80.

There are hopes the infrastructure that needs to be built to cater for the growing number of superyachts will become permanent ad will then later cater for an ever expanding market.”

Managing director of the agency Asia Pacific Superyachts NZ, Duthie Lidgard, believes that with the Pacific becoming a cruising destination more boats will continue to make the effort to travel to New Zealand.

He said, “With the average vessel now up over 55m in length, the boats are adventuring more and New Zealand always seems to be part of their bucket list. We are already in talks with several vessels three years ahead of planning their trip to New Zealand and the win has increased interest in cruising and chartering in New Zealand waters.”

With another event of this kind held in Auckland there would definitely be a need for a new major development to ensure sufficient infrastructure, base facilities for challengers and new berths for visiting superyachts and Lidgard believes these changes will definitely occur. “In the last 15 years since New Zealand last hosted the cup, cruising outside of the normal Mediterranean Caribbean run is becoming more normal than the exception. The rise of Expedition Style motoryachts is creating a long range cruising environment and the Pacific is still offering untouched cruising grounds”.

”For the last four years our marinas have been at near maximum capacity for the superyacht visitation each summer, the America’s Cup coming to New Zealand will definitely see a much needed boost for the local industry over the coming years.”